The Scripture Doctrine of a Future Life

IT is not to be supposed that long cherished theories will be given up without a struggle, however plainly they may be shown to be erroneous. Early education and long established notions are hard to eradicate; hence, notwithstanding the overwhelming amount of evidence showing the destruction of the wicked, appeal is made to a few passages, which are claimed as supporting the doctrine of eternal torment. To a person who has not examined the subject, it may be made to appear that the Bible is full of strong texts on that side of the question; but the fact is, there are only nine texts in all the Bible which are claimed as directly teaching the doctrine of endless torment. True, a few other texts are brought in as collateral proof; but there are only nine that are claimed as direct proof upon the question. While on the other hand, as we have already shown, there are scores, and even hundreds of texts, positively asserting that the wicked shall die, perish, be destroyed, be cut off, burned up, be as though they had not been, and many other expressions equally strong. These declarations are repeated over and over; and the few texts which are claimed in favor of endless suffering are readily explained in harmony with the doctrine that the wicked shall be utterly destroyed.

Strange to say, the first passage which our opponents are able to select in supporting their theory, is not found till we come to the book of Psalms, nearly half way through the word of God! If such an awful doctrine be true, it has been true since the days of Adam; and every soul of the human race has been in danger of endless hell. It would seem as though the race ought to have been plainly and unmistakably warned of it from the very earliest period. It ought to have been kept before them constantly; and yet, our opponents themselves being judges, not a declaration concerning this eternal, horrible, burning hell of endless torment, not a text stating such a thing is found until we get half way through the Bible. In fact there are only three texts that can be construed so as to favor that doctrine in the whole Old Testament. We will now examine them. The reader will be surprised to see how weak they are.

First Text.—"The wicked shall be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God." Ps. 9:17. Here, say our opponents, is a plain text of Scripture on our side of the question. Well, what does it say? The wicked shall be turned into hell. Very well, we believe that as strongly as anybody. All the wicked will go into hell, certainly. But how long does this text say they are to be tormented there? you will notice that it does not say anything about that part of the question. It simply says that they shall be turned into hell, and there leaves them. It does not say or intimate that they shall remain there one hour or one year. We must learn it from some other texts. Be it known then that this text does not have the least bearing upon the doctrine of eternal torment. And yet this is one of the nine pillars of that structure. You will notice how little support it gives to that monstrous theory.

Second Text. —"The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?" Isa. 33:14.

"Everlasting burnings," exclaim our opponents. Here we have our doctrine taught certainly. But they should not be too certain about this. Who among us shall dwell with devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? The very question implies that no one can. Many times in the Bible similar questions are asked, as, Who can abide the day of wrath? Rev. 6:17. Who can stand before his anger? What living man shall not see death? Ps. 89:48. All these imply a negative answer, and so does this text. No one can dwell in devouring fire, in everlasting burnings. Strange to say it is on such texts as these that the doctrine of an endless hell is built. But there is not a hint of such a thing in one of them. On the other hand it plainly implies the utter destruction of the sinner.

Third Text.—"And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." Dan. 12:2.

The advocates of endless misery make another stand here. They think they find some support for that theory in this text; but a few words of explanation will convince any candid man that this is not on their side. Some shall awake to everlasting life, that is, the righteous, "and some to shame and everlasting contempt." Now if the wicked awake to everlasting contempt, then, it is argued, they must live everlastingly, eternally in misery. But we submit that no such conclusion is necessary. We maintain that they can be utterly annihilated, and still the contempt of them continue.

During our struggle for liberty in the Revolution, General Arnold turned traitor, and had to flee for his life. Ever since that day he has been held in contempt by the whole American nation. His name is only mentioned now with scorn and reproach. "Arnold the traitor!" is a term with which every body is familiar. He is held in contempt, and yet he has been dead long years. Just so with regard to the wicked. They come up to the judgment to be covered with shame, and held in contempt by the righteous. The Syriac translation gives it thus: "Some to shame and the eternal contempt of their companions." The Jewish translation renders it thus: "Some to disgrace and everlasting abhorrence." This brings out the correct idea. They are held in eternal contempt or abhorrence by the saints. So the wicked can be annihilated at the judgment, as the Scriptures teach, and yet this text be true.

Here, then, is all the evidence claimed from the Old Testament to prove eternal suffering. Reader, is it not a rather frail foundation on which to begin so stupendous a superstructure? We now come to the New Testament for the

Fourth Text:—"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Matt. 25:41.

Every candid person must admit that this text is one of the strongest that can be produced for eternal suffering. The wicked are to depart into everlasting fire. The original Greek is, aionion fire, that is, everlasting fire. Then the wicked are to be sent into everlasting fire. So the Bible says, and so we believe. Then must they not suffer there eternally? Not necessarily. Let us compare this with another passage where the same term is used. Jude 7. "Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." The apostle in referring to the overthrow of the cities of the plain says that they suffered "the vengeance of eternal fire."

Now we ask, What happened to those cities? are they still burning? Is the fire still alive in Sodom and Gomorrah? No; every intelligent reader knows that the waves of the Dead Sea have rolled over those plains for more than three thousand years. That fire has been long since extinguished, and yet it was an eternal fire. Hear Peter's testimony upon that. "And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly." 2 Peter 2:6. What does Peter say God did with those cities? Turned them to ashes, condemned them, made them an ensample to others. Very well. Then it will be noticed that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were turned to ashes by eternal fire.

But how could it be said to be eternal fire if the fire has long been out? The answer is simple. The cause is put for the effect, that is the effect of that fire; the destruction which it wrought was eternal. These cities were burned down, destroyed, never to be rebuilt. They never have been and never will be. Hence their destruction was eternal. The effects of the fire were eternal. And hence by the very common way of speaking, the cause is put for the effect, and the fire is called eternal. The simple meaning is, as any one can see, not that the fire is eternally burning, but that the result will be eternal. Let us take a few other cases to illustrate this use of the word eternal. Thus Paul says, "Of the doctrine of baptism, and of laying on of hands, and of the resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment." Heb. 6:2. Is the judgment to be eternal? Is God to be eternally carrying on the judgment and never have done with it? Is it to be unending? then the world can never be judged. In this case we do positively know it can not have that meaning. All will agree that it means that the effect of the judgment will be eternal, the decisions of the court will never be reversed. The one who is judged to destruction will remain eternally destroyed. Those who are judged to life will eternally live. Hence the judgment, by a common form of speech, is itself called eternal.

Take another case: "Having obtained eternal redemption for us." Heb. 9:12. Eternal redemption! Is the Lord to be eternally redeeming his people, and never redeem them? Oh, no; but the effects, the results of their redemption is eternal, hence it is called eternal redemption. Just so in the text under consideration. Everlasting, or eternal fire, means precisely the same that it means in Jude in regard to the cities of the plain. They were burned up, or as Peter says, "reduced to ashes" by eternal fire. Now we argue that if Sodom and Gomorrah could be burned with eternal fire, and at the same time be reduced to ashes, and the fire go out, so also the wicked can be burned with eternal fire, be reduced to ashes, and that fire may cease to burn. We leave our readers to judge if this is not the candid truth in the matter.

Fifth, Text. —"And these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal." Matt. 25:46.

All will agree that this is by far the strongest text in the Bible in favor of endless torment. Our opponents themselves will admit that if this text does not teach it, then there is none that does, and we agree with them. But we are confident that it teaches no such thing, and that a few words of explanation will convince our friends of the same fact. Look carefully at what it does say. It says the righteous shall go into everlasting life; the wicked into everlasting punishment. Now, is not the life of the righteous unending? Certainly. Well, is not the punishment of the wicked to be parallel with the life of the righteous? Does it not last as long as the life of the righteous? Yes. Indeed, the original Greek term aionion, rendered everlasting in the clause referring to the wicked, is the very term that is rendered eternal in the next clause referring to the righteous. Hence, literally, these shall go away into eternal punishment, and the righteous into eternal life. We have opposites in this text, that is, the punishment of the wicked is placed in direct opposition to the life of the righteous. Whatever the righteous have, the wicked have just the opposite, and it lasts just as long.

Now let us look carefully at the statement. The righteous go into eternal—what? Into eternal LIFE. What do the wicked have? They go into just the opposite of this. Now we ask what is the opposite to life? Let us have no evasion. The answer must be DEATH, for death is certainly the opposite of life. Very well; then the statement plainly is this, that the wicked shall go into eternal death. They shall die, as the Scriptures say; and this death will be eternal. There will be no resurrection or coming to life from it. This is so plain that a child ought to see it.

But would this be eternal punishment? Well, we ask again, Is not death a punishment? Certainly it is as great a punishment as the law can inflict. Then if death is a punishment, eternal death would be an eternal punishment. Notice; the text does not say the wicked shall go into eternal punishing, but eternal punishment. The punishment is something that is done, completed, finished. Punishment is thus defined by Webster:—"Any pain, suffering, or loss on account of crime." The wicked lose eternal life, hence their loss is an eternal loss, and therefore an eternal punishment. We maintain that this is the simple meaning of the text. The wicked are destroyed. This destruction is eternal, and hence their punishment is eternal.

Listen to the apostle Paul upon the same subject. Speaking of the wicked when the Lord shall appear he says: "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." 1 Thess. 1:9. Matthew says they shall go into everlasting punishment, but does not state, only by implication, what that punishment will be. Paul takes up the same subject, and carries it a little farther. He says they shall "be punished with everlasting"—so it is everlasting punishment. Then he explains what it shall be: "punished with everlasting destruction." This settles the question. Their punishment is to be destruction. And that destruction is to be everlasting; hence, it is to be everlasting destruction. We are willing to leave it to our readers whether this celebrated passage is not plainly harmonized with the position that the wicked shall be utterly destroyed.